Lite-On Group announced last week it had won a five-year contract to supply 140,000 LED traffic lights to the California State government, according to an article on Taiwan Economic Times.

Lite-On Group announced a full range of “Love the Earth, beginning with LED” illuminating products, together with its subsidiary companies. Lite-On Group CEO David Lin indicates that LED illuminating products are estimated to contribute NT$4 billion to the Lite-On Group’s revenue in 2009 and that figure is expected to multiply in the following year.

It’s reported that Jameco Electronics has purchased a significant quantity of excess inventory of Lite-On brand LEDs. The inventory includes packaged LEDs of many varieties and LED-based numeric displays. It is reportedly being sold at a significant discount.

Over the past few years, Taiwan LED manufacturers, from chipmakers and packagers to lighting-module and lamp makers, are beginning to see a payoff from energy efficient products. Taiwan has ranked No. 2 in the global LED supplier, with 2008 revenue estimated to reach around US$1.9 billion, or 26% of world’s total.

Recently, Taiwan’s No.1 LED chipmaker Epistar Corp. entered into alliance to tap LED lighting market with Delta Electronics Inc. Both companies’ executives have confirmed reports related to their cooperation on the lighting business. Delta has pledged to buy its partner’s chips.

Recently, Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) introduced two patented LED innovative technologies-AC LED and LED healthcare lighting, which will help Taiwan hone the competitive edge of its LED industry via generating royalty income. Semiconductor devices, as computer chips and LEDs have been designed to work at low current ever since day one due to inherent characteristics, but call for direct-current (DC) transformers to be powered by household AC (alternating current).

It’s reported that Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), with its One-Chip AC LED technology, has been selected a winner of the 2008 R&D 100 Awards competition sponsored by the U.S.-based R&D Magazine.  

It’s reported that Taiwan’s government-funded Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has teamed up with scores of LED makers to form an R&D alliance, in a bid to integrate industry resources to develop applications for AC LED technology.

Recently, Luminus Devices and Everlight have each announced that their LEDs are powering new types of projectors. Luminus LEDs used in Samsung, LG projectors, Everlight starts shipping LEDs for micro projectors.

It’s reported that Lite-On Technology Corp., a world leading supplier of mobile keypads, is venturing into the LEDchip market by investing US$10 million in SemiLEDs Corp., a U.S. producer of high-power LED chips.

Recently, the Executive Yuan, Taiwan’s Cabinet, announced it would replace all the island’s incandescent-type traffic lights with LED lamps in three years, and replace all the incandescent lamps currently serving throughout the island with energy-saving lamps in four years. Taiwan government’s energy-conservation policy will give a big boost to the island’s energy-saving lamp industry, in which many manufacturers have planned to begin volume production or sheer shipment some time this quarter.